Cheap Refrigerator question

pnichols wrote:

Bob E. wrote:
Plus it keeps things colder and has more space in it...so long as you have hookups.

We haven't experienced those downsides with the 6.3 cu. ft. Norcold propane refrigerator in our RV.

6.3 cu. ft. is 6.3 cu. ft., and it happens that the 6.3 cu. ft. inside of our Norcold is plenty enough room for the two of us for at least a week or more . It has 5 coldness settings and we use it most of the time on setting 3. Setting 5 freezes stuff in the refrigerator section and keeps the freezer section less than zero (which is too cold to for on-tap-usable ice cream). A 10 degree freezer is perfect for ice cream and that is what setting 3 gets us in most conditions. We sometimes use Setting 4 when it's really hot outside.

I'm really scratching my head regarding all the complaints in the forums about poor RV propane refrigerator performance. Either they're not building the propane refrigerators like they used to (our RV is a 2005) ... or RV manufacturers don't know how to, or don't care to, install them properly anymore. :h

I believe the original RV fridge was 8CF. The residential fridge they put in is a 10CF unit and it fit right in the same opening. It is a bit deeper though. The only thing dad did was shave the wood trim at the top so the hinges would pass through the opening.

Maybe it wasn't adjusted properly or something, and maybe that's why it failed after just 10 years (a tube carrying the ammonia cracked). But it was never really cold inside, especially when hot outside, even when new. We were new to RV's so we just figured they didn't work as good as the fridge in your house. We even kept cans of pop, water, and beer in a separate cooler on ice just so it was colder and we weren't opening the fridge as often. By the end of the week, I was always worried about the milk going sour. And forget keeping ice cream in the freezer. Frozen meats would stay frozen, but ice cream would be very soft if not melted.